Ultragene Warlord

"Ah, you're sure that Zhang Lie's in here?" Liu asked the informant for confirmation.

"I told you he's in there, didn't I? Won't you find out if you head inside?" The informant waved his hands at them in annoyance, glancing around as if worried that someone would appear at any moment.

"Well? Let's go in. Regardless of whether Zhang Lie's inside, I'm sure we'll be able to write a sensational article." Li nudged the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, tuning their senses to the maximum. Even if Zhang Lie weren't inside the array, he would be able to expose the internal structure of these buildings, as well as the nature of the arena in which tests of strength were conducted.

The two of them walked into the array and vanished with a puff of light.

At the same time, Zhang Lie's water- and dark-attuned genetic energies merged as one, forming a pillar of light. In his forest wolfman form, Zhang Lie's hackles rose, and the pillar of light was quickly dyed a lurid red. He clenched his fist, and the pillar of genetic energy, which seemed to have come alive, moved along with it.

A mysterious aura filled the room. Opposite Zhang Lie, the tiger's wind- and flame-attuned genetic energies seemed to turn faint, as if viewed through a pair of sunglasses. Ripples spread out with Zhang Lie at the epicenter, as if he were a disturbance that had fallen into a still pond.

The illusion of a night sky blanketed them all, filled with shining stars and a radiant moon.

Zhang Lie summoned his serpent around him even as he established [Eclipse]. The serpent soared toward the skies, then wrapped around the glowing moon.

Liu Mo and his companion felt themselves being weighted down, and their genetic energy began draining precipitously from their bodies. Facing such unusual circumstances, they didn't dare charge up their blow any longer. One waved his sword, and the other his polearm.

"[Flamewind Duet]!" The tiger roared, then shot forward at Zhang Lie, propelled by its flaming wings.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!" At the same time, Zhang Lie released a breath and punched forward with his fist, sending a blood-red dragon surging toward the tiger.

As the two beasts formed of genetic energy clashed with each other, the floor of the arena crumbled.

Around the glowing moon, Zhang Lie's serpent screeched, and genetic energy dissipated even more quickly from the two hunters.

"Just what kind of crazy fellow is this?!" Liu Mo felt the last drops of genetic energy being wrung from his body, and he was unable to even maintain his armor from the dimensional world any longer.

His companion was about to say something when he coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, his body in internal disarray due to the serpent's actions.

The blood-red dragon crushed the tiger, releasing the wind- and fire-attuned genetic energy that had made up the attack. A tsunami of energy wrecked the entire arena.

The two hunters opposite Zhang Lie stared at him in shock: despite having taken the restricted potion, their strongest blow had been decisively countered by Zhang Lie.

Not only that, the blood-red dragon was heading straight in their direction.

They tried to launch a counterattack, but all their genetic energy had been drained. In growing despair, they watched the dragon coming their way.

"Quick! We have to film this scene! Look at all the destruction in the arena! That's what you'd expect from peak second-realm hunters—that Zhang Lie's a crazy strong hunter!"

Li and Liu had made their way to the arena stands, and Li's face was tinted a fiery red from the light coming from the attacks below. Liu took out a portable recording device, which would capture the entire scene unfolding beneath them.

"Li, it looks like someone's going to die! Should we stop them?"

"You want to meddle in that?! If they're fighting to the death, it means that there's something fishy going on with this test—we'd better not get involved. What's more, do you think you can block that dragon's attack?"

Li rapped Liu on the head, who yelped in pain.

The dragon descended on the two hunters facing Zhang Lie. Immediately afterwards, Zhang Lie deactivated the forest wolfman and blood ant soulshards, exposing a gaunt, pale-white face to Liu's recording orb.

The aftereffects of Zhang Lie's blood ant soulshard were really quite severe. Zhang Lie chattered as pain wracked his body, waves of exhaustion turning his limbs to stone. He barely avoided collapsing on the spot, supported only by his willpower. Of course, the strength it provided was more than enough to make the aftereffects worth bearing.

"I'll make the Wang clan pay for what they tried today, I swear it," Zhang Lie gritted out. "Just you wait—after I found my dojo, the Wang clan will perish!"

He glanced at where the two hunters had been standing—the dragon's attack hadn't left even a trace of their corpses behind. The Wang clan had clearly been targeting his life, and perhaps they would have succeeded if not for his newfound popularity shielding him from any more obvious attacks.

It looked as though he would still have to be somewhat cautious in the future, but even so, despite what the Wang clan had attempted, the final victor was Zhang Lie. He took a few minutes to recover, then left the arena with a faint smile on his face.

Only then did Li and Liu, hiding in the stands, dare to relax.

"Li, just who is this Zhang Lie? His opponents were peak second-realm hunters, weren't they? How did he destroy them so utterly with just one blow? Isn't he from the slums of Ning? He has no clan or backer! How did he get so strong?!"

Li smiled. "We're not the ones who have to be concerned with all this. More importantly, did you capture the fight in its entirety?"

"Yes, I did! It's unfortunate that we were too late to record the entire fight, but—"

"No, that last confrontation's enough. We're sure to make the headlines tomorrow—let's go! One last piece of advice for you: those in our profession succeed because of our curiosity, but it's likewise our downfall. Curb your curiosity, or it'll lead you to your death."

Li was far more practiced and experienced in this field than Liu, and he was well aware of the hidden dangers that could surface if he weren't careful. He and Liu had both been present for the fight, and he didn't want to lose his life because of Liu's incaution.